NSW GOVT to welcome first CareerTrackers interns

04-Mar-2015

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Victor Dominello today announced that the NSW Government had become the first government in Australia to partner with CareerTrackers,
a national internship program which supports young Aboriginal people into employment.

The Baird Government is delighted to be supporting two CareerTrackers interns to become the first to take up positions within the NSW public service in
2015, Mr Dominello said.

Through the CareerTrackers program, Aboriginal students receive mentoring and financial support throughout their undergraduate studies.

During university, students are also given the opportunity to work as interns in the private sector, across a range of professions, for a minimum of 12-weeks
each year.

The Baird Government is committed to improving career opportunities for Aboriginal people in the NSW public service and through this partnership, CareerTrackers
students can now choose to do their internship with a NSW Government department or agency.

Mr Dominello today also announced the release of a new NSW Public Sector Aboriginal Employment Strategy, which focuses on attracting and retaining more
Aboriginal staff and improving career development opportunities.

Increasing Aboriginal employment in the public service, particularly in decision making roles, is a key focus of OCHRE: the NSW Government Plan
for Aboriginal affairs,â€ he said.

The NSW Public Sector has made good progress in Aboriginal employment over the last four years. Aboriginal employment levels are higher than have ever
been, however more work needs to be done to achieve the benefits of a truly diverse workforce.

The strategy released today seeks to deliver an Aboriginal employment rate of 3.3 per cent across the public service by 2021, exceeding COAG's national
target of 2.6 per cent.

The Aboriginal employment participation rate in the NSW Public Sector is tracking at 2.9 per cent however Aboriginal people are still predominantly employed
in junior roles.

Through the employment strategy we are committing ourselves to encouraging more Aboriginal people into senior public service roles, with an aspirational
target of 1.8 per cent Aboriginal employment for each salary bands in the NSW Public Sector.

Strategic partnerships like the one we've announced with CareerTrackers today will play an important part in driving cultural change and inspiring the
leadership we need to achieve these aspiration goals.